Australian Culture

Researching National Cultures: a comparison of Japanese and
Australian national cultures

Introduction
In an increasingly global world, people will inevitably find themselves working within and across cultures. The national culture in which a person identifies with and is immersed in, has been proven to have a profound impact on an individual’s values and behaviours, this in-turn impacts on understanding of other . An ability to discern and understand potential variances in culture, without adopting blanket stereotypes is therefore a critical tool for any organisation, manager or marketer (Taras et al.,
2011). The purpose of this current report is to compare and contrast three core cultural dimensions between Japanese and Australian national
Japan is often characterised as an extremely hierarchical society (Oshima, 1997) often attributed due to Japanese organisational structures and an adherence to ‘chain of command’.
Despite this, Hofstede’s (2012) analysis returned a midrange value of 54 on the power distance spectrum, indicating assertions that Japan is a very hierarchical society may not be accurate. Japanese businesses do tend to employ hierarchical organisational structures, consisting of multiple management layers, compared to a preference for much flatter management levels in Australia. While the Japanese culture respects and expects the ‘chain of command’, it does not demonstrate the

more ascriptive traits often associated with a high power distance (hierarchical) culture. For example, in Japan there is a strong belief that if one works hard, does their best and follows the rules they too can succeed. Therefore, upper management is not reserved for those born into it, but is available for any man
(Hofstede, 2012). The same is true in Australia where achievement is valued
While this analysis focussed primarily on European cultures, some comparisons could be drawn with Nishiyama’s article on Japanese and their obsession with luxury goods. (Nishiyama). Australian’s on the other hand generally place less importance on the need to high-end quality products.

These cultural differences in approach to uncertainty and social control would necessitate awareness that Japanese employees and management may place a greater importance on procedures and protocol. Their Australian counterparts may not place the same importance on these internal procedures. If not managed appropriately this could lead to conflict within the organisation. Japanese managers may also need to be aware of different perceptions of workplace loyalty as it could

be anticipated that Australian staff turnover will be higher. This is particularly true in the Northern Territory which has a lower than national average employee